on sleep patterns, pets and shotguns. aka. sunday morning.

I was ready to wax poetically about the changes in our lives that this week last week brought, but alas - instead I will have to make this a bulleted type of post, for we had a rough, rough night last night.

~ We used to have three pets we loved. Now we have one baby we adore and three pets - one of whom we love, but only in moderation, one of which we like in moderation and the other of which we care enough to try to keep alive. I will let you guess which is which, but on a morning like this morning, when between the hours of 7:30pm and 6:40am one of us was holding a baby the entire time (and thus not sleeping), when my nap gets interrupted by a screaming whining cat, and then the baby - who is FINALLY down in her own bed - stirs, that cat should count her lucky stars I do not own a shotgun. For real. I knew that there would be some shifting of allegiance from pets to child when the baby was born, but what I didn't realize was how damn ambivalent I'd be towards those furballs. Perhaps this is the lack of sleep talking, or the fact that I can still hear the cat whining from inside the garage, despite the fact that there is a piece of drywood propped up against the door to minimize said whining.

baby girl loves daddy's thumb. and has some serious morning hair!

Okay, enough whining from me.

more of this, please!

~Miss Eleanor had a rough week. In turn, so did I. Sweet thing has had a little bug for a while, nothing too substantial, but by Wednesday night, when bedtime rolled around, she was having nothing of it. Normally she's a breeze to put down (with only the occasional fit when she's being strong willed), but Wednesday night she screamed bloody murder for several hours while we tried to console her and get her to sleep. Back arching, head flailing side to side, refusing her pacifier, and the second we'd put her in her crib after finally falling asleep in our arms, she'd open her eyes wide and let us have it again. It was rough. The rest of the night was spent with Peter upstairs on the couch and she and I sleeping together in our bed, with her waking a couple times an hour. Needless to say, at the start of the evening I was just annoyed - why wouldn't this kiddo sleep? - but by the middle of the night I was alarmed at her serious change of behavior. By Friday, after repeating this pattern for two nights and showing a decrease in appetite, I took her to the pediatrician, who suggested that she's had reflux this whole time (5 1/2 months), but it's made worse with the cold. Who knew? Also, she confirmed Ellie has croup, which I already suspected. A little medicine made it much better, Friday night and Saturday she slept like a dream, but then last night we started all over again with the whole not-wanting-to-be-put-down thing. Oh well. It's true what they say - they do grow up so fast - and I am already nostalgic for the tiny baby I held in my arms just a couple months ago. When the nights get rough and my baby just wants to be held, I will not only oblige, but count my blessings that she is here, mine and healthy.

~I miss cooking and being creative in the kitchen. I made what I lovingly refer to as "crack crackers" this week and after scarfing them down all week long, I remember why I gained at least 15 pounds from the time we got engaged til the time I got pregnant. Yeah, my "creativity" in the kitchen = packing on the butter pounds. Having a baby is the best diet ever.

best diet AND eye candy!

(For curious minds though - I cannot recommend Crack Crackers enough. Very easy. Line a rimmed baking sheet in foil, then arrange a layer of saltine crackers. Melt together 1 c butter and 1 cup brown sugar til it boils. Boil for a couple minutes, and off the heat stir in some vanilla and a pinch of salt. Pour caramel over crackers and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and dump some chocolate chips on top - let sit for 5 minutes til the chocolate gets all melty, then spread around and top with toasted almonds and a sprinkling of kosher salt. cool. enjoy that sweet, salty chocolatey caramelly goodness!)

~We got a new couch. Now we have two big old leather couches in our living room. My Grandma is coming over shortly to advise on a new arrangement. Poor Peter is learning that he is slowly taking a back seat in home decor, behind not only his wife but all her female relatives (although, he did pick out the sofa and two end tables without me even seeing them...)

One of Peter's favorite female inlaws and one of Ellie's favorite Aunties!

~Halloween is tomorrow. Ellie's costume makes me squeal with delight. Seriously, I squealed when I put it on her.

~I caved to the pressure that is pintrest. Oh dear me. Like I have time to catalog things on the internet that I like. Somehow, I sense that this will take over my life. Last night I was watching the Huskies while playing around on pintrest and my sweet bff from high school texted me about how addicting pintrest was. Turns out, we were doing the exact same thing - on the couch, watching the game, on pintrest. I'm guessing she was in sweats too, but didn't confirm that. :) Love you, friend!

She sits in the cart like a big girl! Kills me with cuteness!

Saturday morning, part II

Um, is it really Saturday morning again? Did I really just give this blog post the same title as last week's post? Gosh - I sure am creative!

Not to sound like a broken record, but these weeks are FLYING by! On the one hand, that's a great thing - the whole household is so busy Monday through Friday that before we know it, it's the weekend again. On the other hand, it means that as each week passes, our girl is another week older and we barely had a moment to breathe, let alone soak up each moment of Eleanor before she presents us with a slightly newer, older model of baby.

Pumpkin Day on the Farm!

Flying Baby!

We had such a busy week. Ellie had her first little cold, and although she was never miserably sick, I wished I could have spent the whole week by her side. Despite the fact that she wasn't feeling well, I have never heard a cuter sounding cough in my whole life. :) My work has picked up big time and on Tuesday for the first time I pulled a 13 hour day and left Peter with Ellie in the evening. I came home with a broken heart, aching for my baby. She was asleep in our bed and poor Peter looked a little shell-shocked. Needless to say, evenings aren't always her happiest time of the day, and she can be a bit challenging to get to sleep on occasion.

She's mastered the art of sitting up!

I ran an all day meeting on Wednesday and had my laptop hooked up to project against the wall, forgetting that Ellie's face was my backdrop. So all the meeting participants got to see a huge Ellie's face on the way for the majority of the meeting. :) So we were busy, busy all week, up until the moment when I was about to walk (okay, run) out of the office on Friday afternoon and instead got pulled into a meeting with several VPs to go over an initiative we are taking on next week. Fitting to end the week that way.

Hi Ellie!

On an unrelated note:

Her birthday was running through my head over and over again last night. I dreamed about giving birth - about the pain and beauty and fear and joy all wrapped up into those hours. It was the single most transformative day of my life. I know that until the day I die, May 16, 2011 will remain the most monumental and pivotal day in my life. Even subsequent births, if I am so lucky to bring more babies into this world, will not have the same impact as hers did, as never again will I become a mother for the first time. Despite that, and despite being (hopefully) about two-ish years from having another baby, I eagerly anticipate the next time I get to give birth.

On another unrelated note:

I gained somewhere in the 60 lb range during my pregnancy. I never thought I'd be that kind of mom-to-be, but oh well. I was up at least 15 lbs from my ideal weight when I got pregnant, so that left me facing a whopping SEVENTY FIVE pound weight loss at the end. I've lost 60 so far, thanks to a) birthing a baby and all that, b) nursing that baby round the clock and c) weight watchers. WW was great at first, but now that I'm back at work, it is SO hard to keep up with, and my motivation has plummeted. Now that I can get back into my pants again, it seems my desire to actually DO something about my weight is nonexistant. I hate that. I need to be motivated again, and I miss seeing the number on the scale drop. It hasn't moved in about three weeks. So, I'm going to kick the diet back into gear (oh, joy). Just thought I'd put that out there on the internet, maybe as a way of holding myself accountable or something. Or perhaps just to overshare. :)

Saturday morning

Looks like fall is officially here. It should have been obvious, what with the whole "back to school" thing, football weekends, baseball playoffs, etc...  I'm a little oblivious to seasons these days, I guess. :) Baby girl was up early this morning so we ran to the grocery store together in our pjs (okay - she was in her jammies. I put on some jeans) and when we got out of the car I totally realized that it was freezing cold and she must have felt it too. Mama fail, I suppose. She's so sweet and easy, I love going grocery shopping with her when the store is almost empty (the exception being at least three other mamas carrying their babies too - that must be in the unwritten guide-book or something). We walk up and down the aisles and in the produce section as I make selections I talk her through what I'm doing and why, let her touch and smell the produce and explain how we know when something is ripe. She smelled cilantro and held yukon golds (I told her how they are nice and buttery flavored) and then we picked out some bananas for her to try later this morning. Sweet mornings together. Plus, picked up a roast on sale, which I'll teach her how to turn into a super easy dinner tomorrow night!

With the arrival of fall, I seem to be experiencing some weird PTSDish flashbacks of last fall, when I was huddled over a toilet nonstop for months. Like, I can feel the nausea at weird times during the day and brining out my fall wardrobe is making me re-experience it all over again. Lord, how I do not miss that at all!

Peter's birthday was yesterday and tonight I'm making celebratory dinner - "Sweetie Pies" - aka - delicious pizza. I'll make bbq chicken pizza and brussel sprout & prosciutto, with creme brulee for dessert. Can't wait!

What else is going on? I can hear baby girl through the monitor waking up from her nap (now I hear her daddy talking to her!), while I'm eating breakfast of leftover Thai Beef Basil and coffee - strange combination, but delicious any time of the day! :) Work is busy busy this week and next week I'll have to work some overtime, which makes me sad to be away from my girl, but mama's gotta do what mama's gotta do! There are wood choppers in the backyard, so Monty is having some minor panic attacks and a pile of laundry stacked a mile high, so chores call....

Have a great weekend!

Writers Block

I have writer's block. I actually have "everything block" right now, if there is such a thing. I don't kow what to make for dinner(s), I don't have much to say when I get home from work, I don't know what to write about... It's amazing I get anything done at all during the day. :)
The truth is - despite my best attempts at choosing a good attitude - I am TIRED.  These days take every ounce of energy I have. Eleanor is getting bigger and a little more impatient as she grows. I think she wants to get up, walk, talk, dance and sing. I swear, that little girl has SO much on her mind. I love this time with her as a baby, but cannot wait to hear her open her mouth and share her thoughts. I think her first word will be a complete sentence like, "mama, please explain the theory of relativity again." Needless to say, when we get home from work - she's tired, antsy and does NOT want to be ignored, even for a moment. (not that I want to ignore her - I just want to take thirty seconds to put away the bottles and wash the pump parts without being hollered for!).

Look who tried cereal for the first time!

My point to this post about my writer's block is that I actually voice recorded on my phone on my way home some ideas of what to write about, things I actually care and would like to share about. So hopefully, less writer's block to come, and more interesting posts. On that note - here is an interesting article I read today. It made me think about what it means to want a family and the lengths we'd go to to get one. For me, those who want a family deserve a family. I don't care if you're a 55 year old wanting to get pregnant, or a gay couple wanting to wed - to deny someone that opportunity or look down on them because it's outside of the "norm" just isn't right. We all deserve to love and be loved, and as the structure of our world changes, we need to rise to the occassion and change our expectations.

Mama made some delicious squash for babykins! (that's Lacy speak for "the baby")

On a side note (yet sort of related) - yesterday was our two year wedding anniversary! On the one hand, it feels like just yesterday that we got married. Memories from that day are almost as fresh in my mind as they were the day after the wedding. On the other hand - it feels like a decade of living has happened between then and now. Between home projects, job changes, trying to get pregnant, getting pregnant, being pregnant, having a baby, raising a baby, etc... Life is certainly different today than it was two years ago! I feel so truly lucky to have found someone who fits with me, gets me and loves me the way he does. I am so lucky that I get to raise his babies. :)

Our family - of THREE!

cute little babykins!

Ellie's Letter

When we heard that if you send a birth announcement to the White House, you just may get a reply from the President himself, Ellie couldn't contain her excitement and begged us to send a letter. Happily, we obliged, but forewarned her that it might take a while until she gets a response; worse yet, she might not get a response at all.

We gathered her birth announcement and wrote a nice note...

Ellie licked the envelope...

And mailed it off!

And then, we waited. Ellie checked the mailbox daily for a reply. She had just about given up hope when...

We opened the mailbox...

And saw a letter! What joy!

Addressed to Miss Eleanor Carolyn Lacy, from Washington DC. She clutched it tight, and...

Opened it up!
Thanks Mr and Mrs Obama!

Pictures

At work, I have a digital frame set up which flashes about 100 pictures repeatedly throughout the day. It’s my saving grace, especially on afternoons like yesterday, when I was so deeply anxious to get home to my baby. Our time together this summer was a thousand times better than any time I’ve ever had, and the frame flashes shot after shot, all of which capture a part of our happiness.
She is the greatest happiness I have ever known. Oh Lord, do I love that girl.

And then in my wistful, nostalgic state, my fabulous momma sent me this, and I laughed outloud.

That outfit! Those socks (where did they come from??)! That smile! It kills me. :)

It's a Beautiful Day

It's no secret I love the area I live in. My drive to work in the morning can be all at one time invigorating and calming. The best part of these mornings are when I park my car and get out and smell the crisp, salty morning air. If I could bottle this smell up and sell it, I so would. It's seriously magic and it wakes me up more than any cup of coffee could.

But, I fail to show the beauty with words alone, so I'll try to make up for it in pictures. And this really doesn't cover the half of what I was so lucky to witness yesterday morning. It was so beautiful - but nothing out of the ordinary. The sky was literally shades of violet and grey, the water was pure glass and the mountain was spectacular against the purple sky. There were wispy, morning marine clouds dancing un the air and in my rear-view mirror all sorts of shades of pink, salmon and orange beginning to show up. A magnificent way to start the day.



at last!